


you're better than you think

by aethkr



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, Insecurities, so tsugu and sayo arent exactly gfs here and theres no underlying romance but, who are words to stop you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 00:09:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20684228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aethkr/pseuds/aethkr
Summary: Tsugumi, during a normal shift, feels like she's not enough. Her friends are amazing, why isn't she? Random strangers seem content with where they are in their lives, so why isn't she?Coincidentally, a familiar looking girl passes through the doors. And maybe Tsugumi will be able to calm the wolf in her chest.





	you're better than you think

**Author's Note:**

> im not dead im just procrastinating
> 
> as usual, not proofread
> 
> enjoy!

Tsugumi doesn’t have a high regard for herself. In her group of friends, she was the most normal. In Afterglow, she was always behind. Chasing people to catch up to them was a “Tsugumi” thing, whether she liked it or not (she didn’t).

There were not many people in the cafe, allowing Tsugumi to observe whoever was still there. Some customers were around her age; friends hanging out talking about everything under the sun. Others were a little older. It amused Tsugumi how she could see what kind of person her customers were. Some wore casual outfits. Tsugumi assumed they had nothing to do at home. Some wore suits, although they were the minority. They were probably on their way to a meeting, or came back from one.

They were all living their lives the way they wanted it. And Tsugumi, she’s just here. A little tinge of bittersweet hit her. 

It wasn’t that she disliked working here. The cafe gave an aura that calmed her, and that was when her friends (not necessarily Afterglow) weren’t messing around with their shenanigans. She loved working here, to be honest. Except seeing people walk in, all coming from various paths of life, and seeing how they live their day… Tsugumi couldn’t help but feel envious. 

Sure, she proposed the idea of a band. She proposed many ideas for them to follow through with, and it’s been worth it every time, but the nagging thought that the best she could achieve was an average wouldn’t stop. She wasn’t like Moca, or Himari, or Ran, or Tomoe. She was just Tsugumi. 

On her bad days, thinking of the keyboard became suffocating for her. It came every once in a while, but rarely enough that it never caused commotion between anyone. On her bad days, the sight of the keyboard was uncomfortable. The keyboard screamed at her. Smiled with a satisfaction Tsugumi couldn’t get a hold on. Played itself with a melody so emotional yet it was impossible to comprehend the unknown. 

These only happened on her bad days, and they were decreasing in occurrence. Tsugumi knew she’d be okay. At least, she forced herself to believe. She was old enough to know that there are some battles you should really fight alone. It was no use if her friends believed in her and she didn’t, so the least she could do is believe in her friends who believed in her. And who knows, along the way, she’ll learn to trust her skills too.

What brought Tsugumi out of her reverie was the familiar blue hair that crossed the doors. The girl gave Tsugumi a small nod, to which Tsugumi smiled back. 

Sayo would probably want her usual, she thought. Sayo regularly ordered coffee. It was probably one of the simpler orders she’d had to prepare throughout her shift. 

Coffee in hand, she walked towards Sayo. The girl was occupied by the phone in her hand, to which she set it aside once Tsugumi was in front of her. “Thank you, Tsugumi.” 

“No problem!” Tsugumi looked around the cafe. “Are you not with the rest of Roselia?”

“No, I just came here out of my own volition.” Sayo sipped from her cup. It was a little hot, Tsugumi knew, as Sayo’s eye twitched as a result. “How are you doing today? I’m not disturbing you, am I?”

“Not at all! There aren’t many customers today so… “ 

“I see.”

Tsugumi liked to think that she was close enough with Sayo to converse with her about certain topics, but the silence consuming their small world was enough to scare her to think otherwise.

“Sayo, can I ask you advice on something?” Tsugumi twiddled with her fingers. “If – If you don’t mind, of course!”

“I’d be happy to assist.” Sayo’s smile was warm. Supporting, encouraging, calm. “Please, take a seat first.”

Tsugumi took the chair across Sayo. The girl’s eyes trained on her. She could feel her heart beginning to run. “What if… What if your best was just average? Like, like… Um… No matter what you do, the highest you can reach for is just what everyone else can?”

Sayo’s eyes widened, and at that point Tsugumi realized opening up was a mistake. “Ah! I forgot! You and Hina— I’m sorry— I shouldn’t have asked!”

“No, it’s okay.” Sayo sipped again from her cup. The coffee was now warm, just how she liked it. “I know better now.” 

“Huh…? You do?”

“I used to believe that my best wasn’t enough. Hina became better than me in a matter of days, and here I was swimming in her shadows again.” What Sayo used to say in bitterness, she said in amusement. “It’s obvious that Hina will be always perfect at everything. Of course, except human interaction.”

A giggle erupted from the two before Sayo continued. 

“I strived to become better than Hina. Except I tried too hard, and lost what made “my” sound mine.”

Sayo sighed. “But I know better now. It’s no use to compare myself to Hina. She’ll always shine like she has always done. For me, I’ll find a way to shine on my own. A way that doesn’t include Hina, for better or for worse. Hina will always be better than me, and that’s a painful truth. But she looks up to me, and the least I could do is support her. Not as a rival, but as her older sister. And besides, our level of skills are different. To compare myself to her or vice-versa is to insult the other. Not one person has the same standards.

“I think its the same for you as well. Your best isn’t “average” for it is “your” best. It may be someone’s “average”, but for you, that is your best level. Don’t worry, your capabilities will become better over time. Just like how you can never compare one to another, humans are never stagnant either.

“Humans always strive to improve. I think that’s a beautiful part of being human."

Tsugumi nodded, watching as Sayo finally downed her cup of coffee. “Thank you, Sayo. You were… very helpful. Heh, I can’t believe you’ve changed this much already!”

Sayo smiled. “Well, I owe it all to Roselia and Hina.”

“I’m sure if they heard you right now they’d be very proud of you.”

Tsugumi held back a laugh as Sayo tensed. “I’d rather… they do not see me in this kind of state…” 

“Why not?”

Sayo looked away with a blush on her cheeks. “It’s embarrassing…” 

“Don’t worry! I bet they’d find you adorable.”

“I don’t know if that’s worse or not…”

Tsugumi giggled. “It’ll be our little secret then!” 

Despite it all, Tsugumi still knew there will be times she’ll fall. Despite it all, Tsugumi knew the bad days were just around the corner every day. Despite it all, Tsugumi wasn’t sure if she could ease the insecurities welling inside of her. 

But despite it all, Tsugumi would work hard. Tsugumi would prove to herself she wasn’t useless. She was no “NPC”. She’d prove to herself that she  _ can _ walk alongside her friends. Catching up to people might still be a “Tsugumi” thing, but she’d rather be known for doing her best than wallowing in self-pity instead.

Tsugumi may not be a prodigy, nor have prior experience with instruments. But Tsugumi’s a hard-worker. The day she’ll walk beside her friends will arrive. Their backs won’t be all Tsugumi sees anymore. 

She'll make sure of that.

**Author's Note:**

> lowkey ship sayotsugu so thats why they are the characters here
> 
> also, tsugu is usually the one helping sayo with her insecurities so what if the roles were reversed? i found it kinda cute so yeah hehehe
> 
> inspired by the recent "tsugu is not boring/not an npc" tweets
> 
> twt: @aethkr


End file.
